It’s “Blue Monday”. Unless You’re a Patriots Fan, That Is…

I'm so stoked that New England is going to the Superbowl again, that there is no bringing me down today! I'm lucky to be unaffected, but there are many folks feeling down because of a few legit factors.

Blue Monday is the third Monday of January and the theory is that it is the most depressing day of the year for the following reasons:

Emotions have crashed after the high of holiday time off, and maybe even a winter vacation.

The depth of our holiday debt and heating bills is sinking in.

We've returned to work and school where we feel more stress and work has piled up.

New Year's resolutions have already failed, after only three weeks.

The days are long and dark.

The weather is cold and gray.

Apparently, a British psychologist developed a mathematical equation using the above stated bummers and came up with this day.

It makes sense to me, all of the elements are true. Environment definitely can affect mental health, and the dead of winter causes many to struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder. However, it turns out that Blue Monday was part of an ad campaign for a travel channel. That makes me sad. Hmmm, Blue Monday must be kicking in.

A big stressor is work, and Forbes.com has some ideas for getting past winter blues in the workplace. Here are a few:

Try to stay away from negative people at work and form connections with the right people. Toxicity really affects your day-to-day happiness.

Redesign your workspace to make it more comfortable and homier. Get rid of the clutter and add pictures of people that make you happy.

Eat lunch away from your desk to get a break in.

Find something outside of work that you are passionate about and can look forward to.

Ask for help at work. Reaching out is not a sign of weakness and can help build camaraderie and team spirit.